


I Want To Go Down With You

by AmberFyre, devilswreckedchewtoy (AmberFyre)



Series: Not Enough [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU-season 3, Established Relationship, M/M, Soul Bond, Wincest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-05 23:26:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/729106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberFyre/pseuds/AmberFyre, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberFyre/pseuds/devilswreckedchewtoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Dean have managed to keep out of Hell, but have acquired a few...pets? in the process.  They head to Bobby's to try and regroup.<br/>Will they stay ahead of the demons on their tail, determined to make Dean keep his deal?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Want To Go Down With You

**Author's Note:**

> _Reposting under a new pseud. Originally posted April 2013_
> 
>  
> 
> I had originally planned this to be longer, but I decided to end this fic here and write the rest in a third fic. For everyone who wanted me to write more about Sam and Dean and their Hellhounds, thank you so much!

  
 

_I don't want to be saved,_  
 _I want to go down with you_  
 _Together we will find a way to come back_

Lacuna Coil : “Not Enough”- Shallow Life

 

\--- -- ---

 

     They were alive.

     For the moment anyway.  And that’s what mattered.

     Speeding towards Bobby’s, Dean glanced at his brother sitting silent in the passenger seat.  Sam seemed lost in thought and Dean almost asked him what he was thinking about.  Then he caught a flash of black in the trees alongside the two-lane highway.

     The five Hellhounds seemed to be keeping up.  Dean wasn’t sure what Bobby would say when he learned about them.  Dean felt a twinge in his stomach, thinking of the package they had mailed to Bobby.  A package he would receive before they got there.

     Another twinge.

     He was trying not to worry overmuch about Bobby’s possible reactions to the contents of the letters he and Sam had sent.  Dean knew he had come clean to Bobby as to the nature of their relationship as well as what Missouri had told them about the soul-bond.  He rather suspected Sam had done the same.

     _I hope Bobby doesn’t disown us._

     Because Dean had no idea how Bobby would react, he was trying not to think about it.  Dean and Sam really needed the older hunter’s advice about their current situation.  Hell, Dean just wanted and needed to know Bobby wouldn’t hate them or condemn them.  Bobby was more of a father in some ways than John had ever been and what he thought mattered to Dean.

     He sighed deeply and glanced at Sam again.

     The golden glow in Sam’s eyes had settled down into metallic gold flecks in his green-hazel eyes.  His eyes actually looked damn cool to Dean.  But then Dean had always loved Sam’s eyes anyway.

     They had cleared out of the motel as fast as they could pack all their shit and get it loaded up into the car.  Sam had spent a few minutes with the Hellhounds.  When he got in the car he told Dean the Hounds would follow them.  Staying out of sight wasn’t a big deal, since he and Sam would be the only humans who could see them.

     Dean was a little worried about one of the Hounds wandering off and attacking someone, but all five seemed to stay close to the road.  Kind of like guards.

     That thought didn’t sit quite well with Dean, knowing what Azazel had had planned for Sam’s future.  He didn’t want Sam to sink into his demonic nature anymore than he had to.  Dean clenched his jaw.

     “It won’t happen, Dean.”

     Sam’s voice was soft.  Dean almost didn’t hear it over the rush of the wind past the open windows.

     Dean glanced yet again towards Sam and found Sam’s eyes on him.  His look was intent.

     “I don’t want to lead an army.  I don’t want to conquer the world.  I certainly don’t want to rule in Hell.  I don’t know what we’re going to do from here on out, but I swear to you, Dean.  As long as we’re together I won’t become what Azazel wanted me to be.”

     Sam’s voice was low and fierce and Dean could feel his conviction.

     “I know, Sammy.  I just worry, okay?  First let’s make sure the demons can’t reverse…well, your…undeath?  Resurrection?  I don’t know.  Whatever the bitch did to bring you back.  Let’s figure that out first.  I don’t want you dropping on me, Sammy.”

     There was silence in the car.  Dean frowned a little.  While on one hand it didn’t really matter if Sam died, since because of the soul-bond Dean would follow him, Dean preferred that they be _alive_ together rather than dead together.  He wasn’t in any kind of hurry to die.  It was only because the crossroads bitch didn’t give him any choice that he’d agreed to the year.  If they could manage to stay on this side of the veil Dean would be a hell of a lot happier.

     For the first time since it had happened, Dean thought back to that short period of time while Sam had been dead and wondered where Sam had been in that time before he woke up.  Right before Dean had killed Azazel, the yellow-eyed demon had hinted that it wasn’t a hundred percent Sam that had been brought back.  Had Sam gone to Hell, however briefly?  Dean had never asked, never thought to ask.  Hadn’t wanted to think about it at all because it meant reliving that moment when the breath had passed Sam’s lips just before he died in Dean’s arms.

     That was a moment Dean wanted to shove into a deep dark hole and bury.  It had felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest along with his lungs.  He had felt like he was suffocating.

     Dean shook his head to dislodge the memory.

     _Should I ask him?  Would he remember?  Does it even matter?_

     He decided to wait.  It really didn’t matter.  Sam was alive now.  Sam was alive.  Dean was alive.  They were both alive.

     And they had five Hellhounds.

     Dean ran a hand through his hair, still slightly freaked at the thought of the huge black animals.  Freaked that he and Sam could see the damn things.  That couldn’t possibly mean a good thing.

     _I mean, they’re Hellhounds!  How good can it be that we can see Hellhounds?  Demonic dogs?_

     Dean shoved that thought away as well.  If they could just get to Bobby’s, he would deal with all those thoughts then.

     The silence in the car continued as they drove, Sam staring out the passenger window and Dean batting away all the worries trying to bleed away at the fact that against the odds he and Sam were both alive.

     Dean planned to find a way to keep them both among the living as long as possible.  Some way.

 

\---^---^---^---

 

     Sam shook himself out of his reverie as he realized the steady purr of the Impala’s engine had ceased.  He glanced over at Dean with a question in his eyes.

     “We’re here.”  Dean’s voice was quiet, his green eyes studying Sam.  Sam glanced out the passenger side window to see Bobby’s house there.  He couldn’t even recall the miles they’d driven to get here.  He’d been lost in thought, mostly.  Also monitoring the Hellhounds.

     He glanced back at Dean, who was still gazing at him.

     “What?”  Sam hunched in on himself a little with the defensive question.

     Dean shook his head.

     “Dude, lighten up.”

     Sam wondered if Dean knew he wasn’t really covering his own uncertainty very well.

    “C’mon, let’s get this over with.”

     Sam nodded and got out of the car, his door echoing Dean’s when he shoved it closed.  As they crossed over to Bobby’s front porch, Sam watched as one of the Hellhounds leaped up onto the roof of one of the old junkers near the front door.  The bitch settled down on the roof of the car, watching Sam and Dean.

     “Where are the others?”  Dean looked at the bitch that was watching them and then at Sam.

     “They’re around,” Sam said.  He closed his eyes briefly, then added, “They seem to be…patrolling the scrap yard.”

     Dean looked at Sam, then back at the bitch who was still watching them.

     “Huh.  Wonder if they know something we don’t.”

     Sam shrugged.  “No demons but them on the property.”  He ignored Dean’s look at him. He didn't really feel like trying to explain to his brother that he could just _sense_ that there weren't any demons on the property. It only seemed to reinforce just how much he was tapping into a part of himself he really didn't even like to admit he had.

     Dean knocked on the front door and they both waited nervously for Bobby to answer the door.

     The front door opened and Bobby stood there.  He stared at Sam and Dean, eyes suspicious.

     “Hey, Bobby.  Uh, surprise?  We’re not dead.”

     Bobby studied the two of them for a long moment.  Sam could see him trying to figure out if they were really them.  He couldn’t blame Bobby.  There was no record any of them could find of anyone getting out of a Crossroads deal without interference from someone else.

     Hesitantly, Bobby stepped back.

     “Well come in, then.”

     Dean started to step inside and froze when the bitch on the car roof started to growl.

     Sam turned to look at her and send reassurances to her.  Dean had turned as well, looking at Sam.  Slowly the bitch stopped growling.

     “We good?”  Dean’s voice was low.

     Sam nodded slowly.  They both turned back to Bobby, who was looking at them both.  He glanced over their shoulders, his eyes roving over what he could see of the salvage yard, then looked at them both again.

     Dean smiled weakly.  “Long story, Bobby.  We’ll tell you the whole thing.  Swear.”

     Bobby frowned.  He jerked his head towards the kitchen and turned to walk that way.  Dean followed immediately.  Sam threw one more glance at the Hellhound bitch before following his brother.

     In the kitchen, Bobby pulled an old flask off the top of the fridge.  He unscrewed the top and held it out to Dean without a word.  Sam recognized that flask.  It didn’t have liquor in it.  It had holy water.

     Dean sighed, rolled his eyes and took the flask.  He took a swig and handed it to Sam.  Sam also took a swig, and was relieved beyond measure that there was no reaction.  He’d wondered a little.

     Some of the suspicion left Bobby’s eyes and he looked at them both.

     “So what have you idjits managed to do this time?”

     Sam handed Bobby the flask as Dean said, “C’mon, Bobby, aren’t you even glad to see us?”

     Bobby shook his head as he took the flask from Sam and screwed the top back on.  He put it back on top of the fridge, then opened the fridge and pulled out three beers.  He handed one to Dean and one to Sam before opening his own.

     “Course I’m glad to see you.  But both of you look like you’re about to climb outta your own skins.  So, you wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

     Sam gazed at Dean silently.  Dean met his eyes, eyebrow cocked.  Then he heaved a sigh.

     “You think we could maybe sit down?”

     Bobby looked at Sam hard, glanced at Dean then gestured towards the living room.  Sam and Dean headed that way, Bobby following and wondering what those damn fool boys had gotten into now.

 

\---^---^---^---

 

     Bobby stared long and hard at Sam, who was sitting with his shoulders hunched defensively and his eyes glued on the beer bottle he held between his hands.  Dean felt his heart start to thump painfully.

     Dean had just told Bobby what had happened when the Hellhounds had showed up to collect Dean…without mentioning anything about his and Sam’s relationship.  He wasn’t planning on keeping it a secret, but he figured Bobby might handle it better if he spaced the hits.  Besides, he should have gotten the package he and Sam had mailed by now.  He swallowed uneasily.

     Bobby transferred his hard look to Dean.

     “You sure you ain’t leaving something out about all this?  I know how hard you both been trying to keep Sam from using whatever…powers…or whatever he might have gotten from the demon blood.  And now this?”

     Dean felt his own shoulders start to hunch defensively and fought it.  He met Bobby’s gaze defiantly.  He was damned if he was going to act ashamed of being with Sam anymore.

     Bobby sighed heavily and got up from the chair he’d been sitting in.  He walked over to one of the overflowing bookshelves, stood there for a moment, then pulled a box down.

     Dean felt his stomach clench as he recognized the box he and Sam had mailed to Bobby with the keys to the Impala, their dad’s journal and the letters they had each written.  At the same time he was glad to see it.  He hadn’t been happy about hot-wiring his Baby, but with no keys he hadn’t had a choice.

     Bobby sat back down, holding the box in his lap.  He hesitated a moment before opening it.  He tossed the keys to Dean, who caught them with a feeling of relief.  Then he pulled out the journal, held it for a moment then extended it towards Sam.

     “You might want to hang on to this, all things considered,” Bobby said gruffly.  Sam glanced up hesitantly, met Bobby’s eyes for the briefest of moments before reaching out to take their dad’s journal from him.

     Dean watched Sam clutch the journal tightly, still curled in on himself.  He started to feel a little bit of anger then.  He didn’t like seeing his Sammy look like he was bracing for a hard blow.  Without thinking he reached out and touched Sam’s arm.  Sam’s eyes met Dean’s suddenly, wide and uncertain, the metallic gold flecks catching the light.  Dean squeezed Sam’s arm gently, trying to send reassurance with his touch and his eyes.  Some of the uncertainty left Sam’s eyes.

     Both boys jumped when Bobby cleared his throat loudly.  Green eyes and green-hazel with gold flecks turned to Bobby and a twin flush covered both Dean’s and Sam’s cheeks.  Sam dropped his eyes again, but Dean kept looking at Bobby, not removing his hand from Sam’s arm.

     “Would you two idjits stop looking like I’m about to kick your damn fool hides,” Bobby growled.  “Give me some damn credit.  I ain’t blind or stupid.”

     Dean and Sam exchanged a quick glance, both of them surprised by Bobby’s words.

     Bobby sighed heavily and set the box on the floor next to his chair.  He looked at Sam and Dean and said, “I want you two to listen up, ‘cuz I only want to say this once.  You boys listening?”

     Sam and Dean both nodded.

     “This life…it’s damn hard on a person.  It’s even more difficult when it’s all you’ve ever known.  Hunters ain’t like regular people.  I was a lucky bastard, having a home to live in.  You two, you never had that.  The only stability you had was each other.  I seen it before, siblings who only have each other to depend on because their parents are caught up in hunting.  Often caught up in revenge, like your daddy.  Not seeing how they’re forcing their kids to rely only on each other.  They do it out of fear and love.  They don’t want to lose the only thing they have left and they don’t always know who they can trust and who they can’t.  Two kids shoved together like that, especially as young as you both were, it’s gonna leave its mark.”

     Bobby paused, looking off into the air at something only he could see.  Dean realized that he was gripping Sam’s arm tightly and tried to loosen his fingers so he didn’t bruise Sam.  For a moment Sam’s and Dean’s eyes met, both pairs wide.  Neither of them had really thought about their situation the way Bobby was explaining it.

     “Missouri ain’t the only one what tried to talk to your daddy.  He didn’t want to see it.  Maybe he just couldn’t let himself see it.  I don’t know.  But I been watching you boys since you were little.  I’d hoped, when Sam went off to Stanford, that maybe you two would manage to get yourselves untangled from each other.  When Jessica died, though, I knew.”

     Bobby glanced between Sam and Dean and wry humor entered his eyes.  “And you two don’t hide crap nearly as well as you think you do.”

     “Why didn’t you ever say anything, Bobby?”  The words burst out of Dean before he could stop them.

     Bobby rolled his eyes.  “And just what was I gonna say?  ‘Are you in love with your brother?’  Like either of you would have copped to it if I brought it up first.  I was waiting for you to tell me.  I didn’t know you’d both wait till you thought you were both going to Hell to say something.  Idjits.”

     Dean felt relief thread through him.  Bobby wasn’t trying to kick them out or disown them.

     Bobby looked at Sam, who was still staring at his hands.

     “Sam?”

    Sam looked up through his eyelashes and bangs and slowly met Bobby’s gaze.

     When Sam met Bobby’s eyes he waited a moment before he spoke, making sure Sam was focused on him.

     “I don’t know what’s gonna happen with you two, but I ain’t cutting you loose because you did whatever you had to to save your brother.  I ain’t thrilled about the way you’ve managed to keep Dean with us, but I also know you.  You might be headstrong and impulsive but you ain’t evil, no matter what may have been done to you.  So stop looking like a damn dog that’s been kicked one too many times.  I get it.  Now let’s see how we can work with the situation.”

     Sam’s eyes widened and Dean felt a tremor run through Sam’s body.  Sam stared at Bobby for a long moment, and as he realized Bobby was serious, he slowly sat up a little straighter and some of the tension left his body.  Dean squeezed him arm again before pulling his hand back.

     “The first thing I want to know is if the demons can do anything to Sam if they can’t get to me.  I mean, Sammy was…”  Dean stopped, swallowed hard then continued.  “Sammy was dead.  Will he…”  Dean’s voice trailed off again.  It didn’t matter if they were soul bound or not, Dean could not think about Sam being dead with any kind of rational calm.

     Bobby thought for a moment before looking at a precarious stack of books next to his chair.  He pulled three or four books out of the stack and looked at Dean.

     “If we can’t find an answer in one of these books then I don’t know what to tell you.”

     He handed one book to Sam and another to Dean.  Dean stared at the book, rolled his eyes and sighed.

     “Research,” he said wearily.

     Sam smiled wryly at Dean.

     “Did you really expect Bobby to do all the work?”

     Dean flushed a little and didn’t say a word.  Sam laughed a little and Bobby smirked.

     “You’ve got younger eyes than me.  Deal with it.”

     Dean sighed again and all three of them settled in to read.

 

\---^---^---^---

 

     Sam ran a hand over his face, yawned and closed the book he’d been reading through.  He glanced over to the window, noting that the light was slowly fading into darkness.

     “I got nothing here,” he said.

     Dean looked up from the book he was perusing.  His eyes looked tired.  Sam felt tired, too.  They had been running short on sleep for a while now.  Looked like it was starting to catch up to them.

     Sam watched as Dean closed the book he had been reading and looked at Bobby.

     Bobby glanced at Sam and Dean.  “Well, I ain’t got nothing, neither.  Which I suppose is a good thing.  Means the only way they can get to Sam is to kill him again.”

     Dean snorted.  “Wouldn’t put that past them.”

     Sam stood up and wandered over to the window.  He was a little nervous about leaving the Hellhounds unattended for as long as they had been.  They were still on the property, Sam knew that.  Still patrolling.  All except the Hound bitch outside the front door.  She hadn’t moved.

     “Well, we need somewhere to hole up for a while, Bobby.  You know someplace we could go that would get us out of the line of civvies?  I don’t think it’s gonna be a good idea to hang around populated areas till we get this taken care of.”

     Sam held in his snort.  _Till this is taken care of?  Or until we’re dead.  We seriously need to talk about what the hell we’re actually gonna do about this._

     “We’re not dead yet, Sam.  Don’t put us in the ground.”

     Sam turned and met Dean’s eyes with an eyebrow raised.  _How’d he know what I was thinking?_

     Dean looked a little startled and shook his head.  He met Sam’s eyes again and shrugged a little before turning to Bobby.

     “So, you know some place, Bobby?”

     Bobby looked at Dean for a long moment.  “I might know some place.  Been meaning to tell you boys about this anyway.”

     Bobby stood and walked over to a desk overflowing with books.  He reached down to the bottom drawer, opened it and pulled out a large manila envelope.  He returned to his chair and sat down, holding the envelope in his lap.

     Sam realized that Bobby was nervous and wondered why.  He walked back over to the sofa and sat down, giving Dean a questioning glance.

     “I know you boys are aware that your daddy kept his secrets.  A lot of them died with him, but not this one.”

     He handed Dean the envelope.  “Belongs to you boys now anyway.”

     Dean frowned at Bobby for a long moment before opening the envelope.  He pulled out a lot of paperwork as well as two deeds.  Sam stared at all the paperwork, then reached over to take some of the pages to look at them closer.  He scanned through the pages he held before he froze and looked at Bobby.

     “Property?”

     Dean was staring at the two deeds.

     “One of them is in Montana and one’s in Maine.”  Bobby sounded hesitant to speak.  “I don’t know when John bought them, or even how.  But it’s as legal as you can make it, and both properties belong to you boys.  He had me take care of it before he died.”

     Sam and Dean looked at each other.  Dean looked shocked.  Sam felt the same way.  It was almost too much to take in.

     Sam looked back at the papers he was holding as Dean turned to Bobby.

     “How long have you known about this, Bobby?”

     Bobby sighed.  “Too damn long.  Your daddy first told me about them when you were about six or so, Dean.  He wanted me to hold on to all the damn paperwork so it wouldn’t get lost.”

     Sam let the words wash over him.  He was two when Dean was six.  And their dad had bought two properties.  And hadn’t told them.  They could have had a home base, some place more permanent than a string of motels.

     Sam felt Dean touch his arm and looked up to meet green eyes that held a spark of betrayal in them.  That surprised Sam.  Dean usually fought to defend their dad to the last breath.

     Dean turned to Bobby and opened his mouth to speak.  He never got the chance.

     Sam’s head turned towards the front door and a second later the Hellhounds let out a chorus of howls.

     “We’ve got company,” Sam said, his voice low and fierce.  He got up and headed for the front door.

     Dean stood and started to follow Sam.  Bobby grabbed his arm and shoved a shotgun at him.

     “Don’t you know better than to go face a demon without a weapon?”

     Dean grabbed the shotgun and followed after Sam, not waiting to see what Bobby was going to do.

     He found Sam on the front porch.  He was standing at the top of the stairs staring down at the bitch that hand been on the roof of the car.  Right now she was standing in front of the stairs, keeping Sam on the porch, and was growling fiercely.

     Sam glanced at Dean.  The metallic gold flecks in his green-hazel eyes were glowing.

     “How many?”  Dean didn’t bother to take the time to react to Sam’s eyes.  If there were demons in the salvage yard he didn’t have the luxury.

     “Four.  The other Hounds are giving chase.”  Sam’s voice was a low growl.  He turned back to gaze over the salvage yard.  Dean glanced behind him to see Bobby standing just inside the door with his own shotgun.  Dean also noticed a bag of rock salt next to Bobby, and that there was now a salt line across the doorway.

     “You boys oughta come back in here.  You want those demons to take you down?”

     Dean shook his head and stepped away from Sam.  He was staring at the corner of the house.  Sam looked that way just as Dean raised the shotgun.  One of the Hellhounds came rolling from around the house.  The demon chasing the Hound only had time to clear the house before Dean took the shot.  The rock salt hit the demon in the chest and he went down.  Two more Hounds appeared, jumped the demon and proceeded to tear him to pieces.

     Sam stared at Dean for a long moment.  Dean had reacted to the Hounds faster than Sam had.  Sam wondered if Dean even realized it.  He felt uneasiness in the pit of his stomach and turned away.  Ignoring the two hounds that were still tearing apart the demon, Sam looked at the lead bitch.  She wasn’t growling anymore, though she still stood blocking the stairs.

     “That all of them, Sam?”

     Dean sounded tense.  Sam nodded.  “The Hounds took care of the others.”

     Dean sighed heavily.

     “We should probably get on our way, Bobby.  Don’t want to bring any more demons down on you.”

     There was silence a moment and Sam glanced over his shoulder.  Bobby was standing in the doorway, looking back and forth between Sam and Dean, his eyes spooked.  _Bobby noticed even if Dean hasn’t yet._

     Bobby shook his head.

     “Dean, let me give you some stuff to take with you.  Maybe it’ll help you boys out.  And you’ll need directions.  I’m assuming you’re heading for Montana?”

     Sam turned his attention back to the Hellhounds as Dean followed Bobby back into the house.

     Radiating calm towards the Hounds, all five of which were now gathered between him and the Impala, he slowly stepped down the stairs.  While he was sure he could control all five Hounds if he needed to, if he didn’t have to he didn’t want to waste that energy.  The Hounds seemed to be willing to protect him and Dean without any urging from him.

     The lead bitch hesitated for a moment when Sam reached the last step.  She looked at him for a long moment before stepping away.  Sam took the last step to the ground and stood staring at the lead Hound bitch.  Slowly he held out his hand to her.

     Sam hadn’t really had a chance to appreciate how big the Hounds were.  They looked like a cross between Irish Wolfhounds and Great Danes…except for the red-ember eyes and the phantom flames that continually wreathed around their forms.  And they weren’t just dogs, no matter what they looked like.  Sam could sense shrewd intelligence as well as the same kind of alien presence he felt from any other demon.

     The lead bitch held Sam’s eyes for a long moment before sniffing at his hand.

     “We need to get moving, Sam.”

     Sam looked away from the lead bitch to meet Dean’s eyes.  Dean had a duffel and a small cooler.  There was something in his green eyes, something he was trying to hold on to.  Sam almost asked Dean what was up before he realized Dean didn’t want to talk about whatever it was in front of Bobby.

     Sam turned to the porch, where Bobby stood.

     “You boys take care, you hear me?  I don’t want to hear you two are dead.”

     Sam smiled a wry half-smile.

     “What’s really changed, Bobby?”

     Bobby shook his head.  He stayed on the porch as he watched the boys pile into the Impala.

     Sam glanced at the duffel Dean tossed into the back seat.  “What’s in the bag?”

     “Some books and other stuff Bobby thought we’d need.  Dunno what all it is, but we need to head.  The Hounds know we’re leaving?”

     Sam shook his head, thinking about just how weird that sounded.  “They’re ready to follow.”

    “Then we’re out.”

     Dean waved at Bobby through the window and pulled the car out of the salvage yard.

     Sam made sure the Hounds were following before looking at Dean.  He took a breath, intending to ask a question and Dean spoke first.

     “Not yet, Sammy.  I’ll talk…just, not yet.”

     Sam exhaled slowly.  “Okay.”

     Sam turned to stare out of the window as they drove off into the night.

 

\---^---^---^---

 

     They drove through the night, silence between them.  Sam dozed a little and Dean was glad to have some time to think to himself without having to endure Sam’s worried glances.

     Truthfully, Dean wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling.  Things had been happening so fast the last few days that they’d only really had time to react.  But having Bobby tell them about the two properties John had bought hurt something deep in Dean.

     Usually he was willing to defend John against anyone.  He had believed, for years, that John had done the best he could with what he knew.  Dean had never questioned him, not like Sam.  John and Sam had started butting heads when Sam hit puberty.  Personally Dean thought it was because the two had been too much alike.  But he’d never say that out loud to Sam.

     The thing is, he’d practically raised Sam.  He saw how hard it was on Sam whenever they had to pick up and leave just when Sam had started to get comfortable.  He knew how much it tore Sam up to have to start over again and again.  And now to find out that John had owned not one, but two properties…Dean couldn’t stop the feeling of hurt and betrayal that was building inside him.

     _We could have easily used one of those places as a home base.  Sammy could have had more stability, could have gone to the same school.  It’s not like much would have been different.  Dad would leave us alone for weeks at a time.  At least Sammy could have been happier._

     Dean realized he was gripping the steering wheel tightly enough his knuckles were white.  He took a deep breath and loosened his grip.  He glanced over to Sam, who was sleeping peacefully.  He looked so innocent as he slept that Dean’s heart hurt a little bit.  How long had it been since Sam looked that innocent and relaxed when he was awake?

     Sam woke just after dawn.  Dean had managed to shove his feelings down for the time being.  He knew Sam was going to want to talk about it.  And honestly, for once, he wanted to talk about it.  But he just didn’t think he could talk and drive at the same time.

     “Morning, sunshine.”

     Sam glared at Dean for a moment then smiled.  He yawned then glanced out the window.

     “Dude, you didn’t have to drive all night.  Why didn’t you wake me?”

     Dean shrugged.  “You looked like you needed the sleep.  Things have been pretty crazy the last few days.”

     Sam frowned a little.

     “Like you don’t need sleep?  You don’t have to baby me, Dean.”

     Dean started to reply, but never got the chance.

     The two lane highway they were driving down had been pretty deserted the whole time Dean had been driving.  For the first time since leaving Bobby’s a car approached from the opposite direction.  Dean only had time to identify it as a small compact before Sam yelled out, “NO!”

     Reflexively Dean slammed on the brakes just in time to see the five Hellhounds ambush the oncoming vehicle.

     “Shit!”  Dean slammed the Impala into park and jumped out of the car.

     The small car was shoved off the road.  It looked like it might roll over, but finally settled on all four wheels.  The Hellhounds were surrounding the car, growling, hackles up.

     Dean didn’t even think.  “Back off!”

     The Hounds all looked at Dean, then the lead bitch looked back towards the Impala where Sam had gotten out and was heading over.  The growling slowly subsided.

     Dean weaved in between the Hellhounds to the driver’s side door.  A young man was sitting there looking dazed and shaken up.

     “Hey man, you okay?”

     The driver shook his head and looked at Dean through the window.  Slowly he opened the car door.  Dean tensed, aware that the Hellhounds were still watching the guy intently, though they didn’t seem inclined to attack again.

     “I’m fine.  Felt like something bowled me over but I didn’t see a damn thing.”

     Dean sighed a little under his breath.  He’d worried a little that the Hellhounds had picked up another demon.  But if they hadn’t, why the hell had they jumped the damn car?

     “You hurt?”

     The guy checked himself over then shook his head.

     “Just kinda freaked.  I just don’t know what happened.”

     He looked at Dean in confusion.  “Did you see anything?”

     Dean shook his head.  “Just saw you swerve off the road and figured should check and make sure you were okay.”

     The guy smiled a little.  “Not many people would have stopped.  Thanks, man.”

     Dean glanced over his shoulder at Sam who had stopped near the front end of the Impala.  The Hellhounds had all drifted over to Sam while Dean had been checking on the guy in the car.

     Dean looked back at the guy.  “You think your car’s okay?”

     The guy paused for a moment before turning the key.  The engine turned over and the car started with no problem.  The guy smiled in relief.

     “You probably wanna get it checked out when you get where you’re going, just in case.”

     The guy nodded to Dean.

     “Thanks again, man, for making sure I was okay.”

     Dean shrugged.  “No prob.”

     Dean walked back towards the Impala, looking back over his shoulder once to make sure the guy got back on the road and on his way.

     Sam was talking in a low voice to the Hellhounds.

     “What the fuck, Sam?”

     Sam looked up into Dean’s green eyes and sighed.

     “They thought the car was going to attack us.”

     Dean stared at Sam for a moment, sure he hadn’t heard right.

     Sam sighed.  “They’ve been keyed up since the demons attacked at Bobby’s place.  They saw the car coming towards us and reacted.”

     “Sam, we can’t have them jumping every car that approaches us on the road!”

     Sam ran a hand through his hair.  “I know, I know.  I need to explain some things to them.  But it might take some time.”

     Dean looked around, finally realizing they were stopped right in the middle of the road.  If it wasn’t BFE and just before dawn this could have been a bigger problem.

     Dean glanced at the Hellhounds then at Sam.

     “Next rest stop we come to, we’re stopping and you can have a little chat with our…guard dogs.”

     Dean shook his head as he got back behind the wheel.  As Sam got in and they headed off again, the Hellhounds taking up their usual places on either side of the road, Dean wondered how the hell his life had come to this.

 

\---^---^---^---

 

     Sam and Dean didn’t talk much as they drove.  Dean, true to his word, pulled the Impala off the road at the first rest stop they came to.  Sam took in the place with a quick glance.

     There were only a few cars there this early in the morning.  There was a guy hanging out in front of the restrooms staring fixedly at a map that was tacked up with a frown on his face.  Some distance from the building with the restrooms and the couple of picnic tables was a small grove of trees.

     “If we go over in those trees we shouldn’t be seen by anyone,” Sam said and glanced at Dean.

     Dean turned the car off and looked at Sam.  “Why do we even need to get out anyway?  Don’t you have that mental thing with them?”

     Sam sighed and resisted rolling his eyes.

     “It’ll stick more if I can actually see them.  I mean yeah, there is a mental link, but they’re still Hellhounds, Dean, not people.”

     Sam looked out of the passenger side window and caught sight of the lead bitch and one of the other Hounds.  The lead bitch was watching him while the other was staring at the man who was still staring at the map, now using his index finger to trace a route on it.

     “Okay, fine.  Why do I need to be there?  I mean, you’re the one who tamed them, right?”

     Sam heard slight hesitation in Dean’s voice.

     _Maybe he did notice._

     Whether Dean realize it or not, he had bonded to the Hellhounds just as much as Sam.  When the Hounds had attacked that car earlier Dean had threaded his way through them without even a thought or hesitation to get to the car.  And the Hellhounds hadn’t tried to stop him.  Sam didn’t know if it had something to do with their soul bond or if something else was going on, but he knew it would be easier to get the Hellhounds to obey if Dean helped.

     Sam sighed.  “Dean, man, just humor me, okay?”

     Dean ran a hand through his hair.  “Fine.  We go talk to the guard dogs then get our asses back on the road.  We need to get someplace and go to ground and make some plans on what we’re gonna do.”

     Sam looked over at Dean, who was staring through the windshield, brows furrowed.  Sam touched Dean’s arm.

     “We’ll work it out, somehow.”

     Dean looked at Sam’s hand on his arm, then up into his gold-flecked hazel-green eyes.  He sighed heavily, then reached out, grabbed Sam by the back of the neck and pulled him in to kiss him fiercely.

     Sam submitted to the kiss willingly, wishing they were somewhere other than a rest stop.  Dean pulled back and looked Sam in the eyes.  His green eyes were dark and his voice was husky when he said, “Let’s do this.  I want to get you somewhere with a bed.”

     Sam grinned as they both got out of the car.  He let Dean lead them over to the grove of trees.  Working off a hunch he didn’t deliberately call to the Hounds.  But he could sense that Dean was unconsciously sending out a signal Sam knew the Hounds would pick up on.  The grin slowly faded as he realized he was going to have to bring this up with Dean.  He had no idea how Dean would react.

     By the time they reached the grove of trees, all five of the Hellhounds had gathered in the trees.  There was a small clearing slightly off from the center of the grove.  Sam looked over his shoulder to make sure they couldn’t be seen from the rest stop.  Even if no one but them and other demons could see the Hellhounds, it would still look weird to see two guys talking to thin air.

     Sam turned his attention back to the Hellhounds.  The two males and one of the bitches were lying in the underbrush, ears perked, but otherwise seeming relaxed.  The lead bitch paced deliberately over to Sam.  She sat down in front of him, her ember-red eyes glowing fiercely.

     Once more Sam realized just how big the Hounds were.  He was 6’4” and still, when the bitch sat down her head almost reached him mid-chest.  Oddly enough, though, Sam realized as he stared at the bitch that he didn’t feel any fear of her, or the others, like he had when he’d first seen them.  Without really thinking about it, he held his hand out towards the lead bitch as he had at Bobby’s.  She sniffed his hand carefully, eyes never leaving his.

     “What are you doing, Sam?”  Dean’s voice sounded incredulous, but Sam didn’t look away from the Hellhound bitch in front of him.

     “She’s still mostly dog-like and most dogs identify people by scent.  It’s just a confirmation for her to be sure I’m who she thinks I am.”

     The lead bitch finished sniffing Sam’s hand, hesitated a long moment, then broke the stare-down and lay down next to Sam.  Sam hadn’t actually owned a dog (at least, not for long) but he knew he lead bitch’s actions were significant.  He glanced at the two males and the bitch who’d already been laying down when he and Dean reached the clearing and saw that they were glancing back and forth between him and the lead bitch.  Then he glanced over at Dean.  And fought a grin.

     The last Hellhound, another bitch, had approached Dean.  She was a little smaller than the others and seemed almost delicate in build.  She had also obviously decided Dean belonged to her because she was currently sniffing him from toe to chest, tail wagging.  Dean was staring at the bitch in surprise, one hand petting her head.

     When Dean started scratching behind the bitch’s ears she wriggled ecstatically and Sam couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up.  Dean looked over at him, green eyes wide and a slight blush on his cheeks.

     “She just came over here and starting sniffing me, man.  What was I supposed to do?”

     Sam watched as Dean continued to pet the Hound bitch and finally noticed something.  When he did, the laughter died.

     “Um, Dean…that doesn’t burn you?”

     Dean looked down at the Hound bitch he was petting between the shoulders now and realized that the flickering flames that wreathed all of the Hellhounds bodies was running over his hand but causing no pain.  Dean frowned a little, his hand pausing, and looked at the three Hounds laying down across the clearing.  Sam looked over as well, and noticed that the ground around where they were laying was slowly getting singed.  He looked at the bitch laying at his feet and saw the same thing.

     Which meant those flames weren’t just illusion.  Sam hadn’t actually petted the lead bitch, so hadn’t realized those flickering flames weren’t illusory.

     Sam looked back at Dean, who was looking at his hand between the shoulder blades of the Hellhound bitch standing there and staring at him with adoration in her ember-red eyes.  Saw the moment when Dean realized he could sense the Hounds himself, the moment he had reacted to the Hounds faster than Sam at Bobby’s.  And saw a flash of fear light the green of his eyes.

     Dean looked up at Sam, eyes wide and confused.

     “What the Hell, Sammy?”

     Sam walked over to his brother, slowly, as though approaching a wild animal.

     “Dean, I think, that whenever I bonded to the Hellhounds…so did you.  Sometimes you react to them faster than I do.”

     “How the Hell did that happen?  I mean, you’re the one who has the powers and shit.  How could I…?”  Dean’s voice faltered, trailing into silence.

     “I think it’s the soul bond, Dean.  I don’t know what else could do this.”

     Sam’s voice was soft, gentle and regretful.  As much as he loved Dean and as much as he treasured the fact that they shared such a deep bond, he wouldn’t have wished any of his crap on anyone.  It was bad enough knowing he had demon blood, bad enough knowing that same blood is what had helped keep Dean out of Hell.  But to think that because they were so deeply bonded that his curse was affecting his brother?  That made Sam instinctively want to put as much space between him and Dean as he could so as not to drag him any further into the darkness.

     The fear and confusion faded from Dean’s green eyes and a fierce possessive light entered them instead.

     “You are not leaving me, Sam.  I don’t care what else happens.  I don’t care about whatever fucking demon blood you might have.  We’ll find a way to deal with it.  We’ll handle it, just like we handle anything else.  But you are mine and you are NOT leaving me again.”

     Sam raised one eyebrow, a half-smile on his face despite his concern for Dean.  Dean didn’t often get so fiercely possessive.  Of course, he also usually couldn’t read Sam _quite_ as accurately as he had been lately.  Sam hadn’t spoken any of his thoughts aloud.

     Dean held Sam’s gaze fiercely for a long moment before confusion filled his eyes again.  He frowned and Sam could tell he was running over the last couple of minutes.  Sam stayed quiet, letting Dean work it out.

     “Well, shit,” Dean said softly, with feeling.

     “Yeah,” Sam agreed.

     “Did you know?”

     “I realized it at Bobby’s.”

     Dean sighed and ran a hand through his short hair and over his face.

     Sam was distracted from Dean by a nudge at his hand.  He looked down and saw that the lead Hellhound bitch was standing next to him, staring up at him.  Sam could sense unease from her and glanced at the three Hellhounds across the clearing.  They were all standing now, looking out into the trees.  The bitch that had claimed Dean was standing in front of him, fur bristling.

     “Dean,” Sam said softly.

     Dean pulled his gaze away from the empty air and looked at Sam.  Sam tilted his head towards the three Hounds staring off into the trees.  Dean glanced at them, then at the bitch standing in front of him fur bristling, lips pulled back in a silent snarl.  Sam met Dean’s eyes only for a moment before both brothers turned their attention to the trees surrounding them.  Sam cursed silently to himself over the fact that neither of them had a weapon on them.

     Sam reached out, trying to sense what the Hellhounds had picked up on.  Just as Sam picked up the demonic presence he heard Dean yell, “Sammy, down!”

     Sam dropped to the ground without a thought, hearing a blade whistle over his head.  He glanced up in time to see the lead bitch take down the man who had been standing in front of the restrooms looking at the map.  Sam swore silently.  He pushed up onto his hands and knees just as he picked up two more demonic presences.

     He glanced up to see Dean duck a blow from a man who’d appeared seemingly from nowhere and the bitch who was with Dean took the man down without hesitation.

     At that moment he felt an arm around his neck, cutting off his air.  He fought, trying to free himself from the demon’s hold.

     “Winchester.  Lilith is really not happy with you.  You’re holding on to her prize.  She doesn’t like to lose what belongs to her.”

     Sam froze for just a moment as the words registered.  Then a surge of anger flooded him and he reacted instinctively, as he had when the Hellhounds had come for Dean.  He reached one hand back, grabbing hold of the demon trying to choke him.  Distantly he heard Dean call his name but he was focused on the demon.

     He closed his eyes, and using the same power he’d used to bind the Hellhounds he reached out to the demon, willing it back to where it came from.  The demon holding him screamed, then his arm fell away from Sam’s neck limply.  Sam scrambled away from the demon, whose body fell to the ground, and stared.

     Dean was next to him suddenly, checking his neck, making sure he wasn’t hurt.  Then Dean looked at the demon lying there.  The lead bitch sniffed at the body a moment then looked at Sam with something akin to approval.

     Sam couldn’t tear his eyes away from the body.  Though there was still anger surging through him, there was also fear as well.  Dean approached the body carefully and checked for a pulse.  He looked at Sam, eyes wide, face pale.

     “He’s dead.”

     Sam swallowed hard, letting the anger fade.

     “Sam, how the hell did you kill a demon?”

     Sam met Dean’s green eyes, feeling his own widen with fear.

     “I don’t know, Dean.”

     They stared at each other for a long moment, then Dean seemed to snap out of the shock.

     “Let’s talk to the Hellhounds and get the Hell out of here. They’re gonna know where we are when these three don’t come back and we’re too fucking exposed out here.  We can talk about…this…later.”

     Sam stared at Dean, frozen.

     Dean came over to Sam, knelt down to where Sam was still sprawled on the ground and said, “Sammy, c’mon, man.  I need you to focus.  I need you to snap out of it.  We have to get moving, sooner rather than later.  Are you with me?”

     Sam held Dean’s eyes for a long moment before he took a deep breath and nodded.  Dean helped him to his feet.

     They talked to the five Hellhounds who seemed to listen attentively.  Sam was pretty sure they caught the gist of what they shouldn’t do.  Dean left briefly and returned with two shovels.  The two demons that the Hellhounds had killed were only so much shredded flesh and bone.  But they couldn’t just leave the one Sam had killed.  So they buried him, covering the area with underbrush to make it look as undisturbed as they could.

     They put the shovels back in the trunk, washed up in the restrooms and got back on the road.  But once they were driving again, Sam found his mind kept returning to that moment where he could recall _feeling_ that demon die.  And he wondered how far into the darkness he was going to find himself pulled.


End file.
